Observations from a Technology/Social Media Challenge

Yesterday, I posted at length about a challenge to see how you use technology and social media for a day.  I did this myself, and wanted to share some of what happened on my part.

First, simply as a result of knowing that I was keeping a record, I noticed that I had a tendency to want not to use some of the various media and technologies that I typically do.  Where I might typically spend more time looking over a website, say, one of my Dallas Cowboys, I noticed that I would spend less time reading and browsing over it than I normally would.  The same goes for the two games that I will often find a few minutes to play (these two are a Mahjong game and one of those popular matching games, called Homescapes).  Instead of spending more time on them, I found that I wasn't quite as keen in playing them, knowing that I would be putting my usage out there for whoever to read.

Overall, my day demonstrated a marked lower usage of technology and social media overall, around a whole hour less usage.  Yes, I still had to use my computer while at work, but I devoted my time much more to getting work done and less surfing the web.  While I tend to have my Twitter feed open, I also spent less time reading over it (15 total minutes on the day today).

One thing that I typically make a very intentional effort to do is to put away my phone when I get home.  That was the same today.  From my time arriving at home until the kids are asleep, I usually only check my phone about 2-3 times total, and that stayed the same.  I truly believe in having face to face time with them and my wife, without any screen interruptions.  So that is something that I intentionally do no matter what.

My evenings are often spent checking Facebook for about 15 minutes, then putting my blog entry and my daily Facebook post together.  That is going to be the same tonight.  Some evenings, I will give myself a little time to play my phone games, and other nights, I focus on reading to continue my learning.  Tonight is going to be an evening where I look over some items for the congregation at which I worship for Sunday, as I will be leading a service at an assisted living center during the Sunday School hour.  Then I will devote a few minutes to deciding which book to start next for my continuing education.  So tonight, I anticipate about another 15-20 minutes of social media/game usage.

The main point from yesterday that I wanted to emphasize was simply checking to see if your usage matched what you thought it would be.  In my case, I am sure that I used less today than I normally do, simply because I was aware that I was doing so.  I also noticed that I did not miss that time that I usually spend on it.  While I am far from a social media junkie, I realize that even that extra hour or so in the day could be put to far better use, far more than in me spending it on myself.

What were your observations, if you participated in the challenge?  If you didn't, what do you suspect you might discover?  What is keeping you from recording your technology and social media usage?  

A Digital Challenge

Generally speaking, there are a few things in our lives that we can look at which help us determine what is of most importance in our lives.  How and where we spend our money shows us a certain set of priorities in life.  Likewise, who we spend time with, and where, also gives us insight into our priorities.  How we allot the time we spend throughout the day is yet another indication of what is of importance in our lives, and it is on this last one that I want to spend a few thoughts.

Do you currently know how you spend the time God has gifted you each day?  Or, perhaps, let me start from a different place.  How do you think you are spending the time that God has given you each day?  Sure, you have a certain amount of time dedicated to sleep.  Another significant portion may be set apart for work (though we will look a little at how we spend our time at work as well).  Then, depending on our life situation, we will allot the rest of the time in ways that reveal things that are important to us.

Initially, here is what I would ask you to do.  Write out how you expect that you are spending your time each day.  Now, don't give too much thought to this, but do take it seriously.  Don't try to pin things down to the exact number of minutes, but give the general feel for how you spend your day.  Please make sure that it adds up to 24 hours, though.  Though He reserves the right to do so, God rarely extends the day for anyone.

Now comes the hard part.  Starting tomorrow, make a log of how you spend your time throughout the day.  Again, don't focus so much on getting it down to the minute, but make sure you are giving an accurate representation of how your time is being spent.  If it takes you 15 minutes to drive to work, simply write down the time you leave your house and the time you arrive at work.  If you are sitting down to eat, note the time you start and then the time you wrap up.  Don't make the exercise more challenging than it already is.

This especially goes for your time on technology.  Write down when you sit down and turn on your computer, and then when you turn it off.  If you log onto something like social media, make a note of when you get on, and then when you get off.  For these, I would actually suggest that you keep it as accurately as possible (easy to do, since most computers have the time stamp at the lower right hand part of the screen).  

For work purposes, you likely have to engage technology in some way.  Rather than keeping track of how you spend your whole work day, focus instead on the time you dedicate to other activities besides work.  If you are surfing the net, write down when you do that on non-work related activities.  Basically, record anything that you do that falls outside of normal work expectations.

Do all this for one full day.  Then, the next day, compare how you thought you were spending your day to how you were actually spending your day.  What did you observe?  Were you surprised by the times you dedicated to certain activities?  What does your observation tell you about what is of importance to you?  Are these the things to which you want your time dedicated?  I'm offering this, not to make you feel bad about how you spend your time, but to encourage you to consider the time that God is giving to you.  You are a redeemed child of God in Christ Jesus, and my hope would be that your day would carry a reflection of how God would have you prioritize your vocations in service to Him and to neighbor.  If you find that is not the case, now is the time to repent and then start to work some change into your life.  We'll deal more with that in the next post. 

Book Review: Digitized: Spiritual Implications of Technology

Digitized: Spiritual Implications of Technology, by Bernard Bull, Concordia Publishing House, 2018

How often do you think about technology?  Chances are, you think about it quite often in our day and age.  Technology is an intricate part of our lives these days.  Every day, new technologies and new media are coming forth at a dizzying pace.  As we adopt technology into our lives, we seem to rarely consider how we are being shaped by it.

In Digitized, Bernard Bull challenges the reader to give consideration to the technology and media that are part of their lives.  Bull isn't against technology by any means.  In fact, in service to the salvation Jesus purchased for us on the cross and the resurrection, technology and media can be a tremendous asset.  Yet, just as there are great possibilities, there are also great challenges.  Technology and media can begin to consume our lives and, in doing so, can actually creep toward becoming idols.

Bull presents a number of thoughts that are worth considering, and I will likely touch on some of these in future posts.  One thing he asserts is that every technology is not neutral, but has its bias.  That is, every technology is created to perform a function and in performing that function, it means that it is not suitable for other functions.  For example, a hammer is a technology created to hit things.  Its bias is toward hitting things.  It doesn't do very well as a back scratcher or to dust your house.  We can see the same thing with other technology.  It has its biases, and how we utilize it according to its purpose means that we are being shaped by it.

Bull also presents another thought that we may not always consider.  Every technology has its affordances.  That is, particular technologies bring to light things that are beneficial.  However, there are also limitations that technology brings.  We typically focus mostly on the affordances, but spend less time on the limitations.  If you spend, for example, time on Facebook connecting with other people, that is an affordance.  However, you might also consider that it limits the time you are spending with your family, or doing another task around your house that may need to be done.  Giving thought to the limitations might help bring the use of technology into a greater perspective.

While Bull gives the reader many different points to consider when it comes to technology use (and these are vastly needed in our day and age), the main thing that he urges the reader to do is to approach all technology with the Scriptures open in front of them.  Technology is not neutral.  Therefore, as Christians, we need to be examining technology and our use of it with God's Word being a constant that we consult.  It's not just merely about the content of the technology, but even the technology itself, and especially our use of technology.  Having the reminder that we are redeemed children of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection helps us as Christians to focus our use of technology in ways that serve God and our neighbor, and even provides a forum for us to ask for forgiveness when we find technology assuming too large a role in our lives.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who regularly uses technology (that means you).  You'll find yourself challenged by it, but in a very good way.

Saying "Yes" and Saying "No"

Let what you say simply be Yes or No; anything more than this comes from evil/the evil one.  Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 5:37

It's very likely that you have been asked to do something or to participate in something in the past.  You didn't really want to do it, but it was a noble cause, or it was something that you felt that you had some level of responsibility to do.  It could have been a matter of deep importance or something that was of far less importance.  You wanted to say no.  You really didn't have enough time for it, you didn't have the interest in it, or it wasn't in your area of strength.  It may have been something that was very good, but it just wasn't going to be a good match for you.  But instead of saying no, you said that you would think about it, that you would pray about it, and in the end, you may even have agreed to do it, even though it was with something less than enthusiasm.

For a moment, I want to suggest that we often say yes to things that we should not agree to do, and we say no to things that we should say yes to doing.  Answering these in the proper way often involves a level of discernment, and a great deal of getting over ourselves.  If we want to say no because we are too busy, or we don't believe we have the time, or we just simply don't want to do it, we should probably ask ourselves if we have selfish reasons for not wanting to do it.  If we say no for selfish reasons, some time to reflect and discern may prove helpful.  If we don't want to do it because we are busy, it may mean that we really should look at our schedule and see if we have too many other things to which we are saying yes, when we should be saying no.

On the other hand, we also sometimes say yes for without utilizing that same discernment.  We say yes because the person asking really wants us to do it, but we are a poor fit for it.  We say yes because we feel guilty saying no.  We say yes because it's a really good thing, even though our schedule is already full of really good things.  Again, this may be the time when we need to utilize discernment in our reasoning for saying yes.  We may need to get over ourselves again, whether it is getting over our sense of guilt, or because we really don't want to let someone else down and thus have a different opinion of us.

When I was reading this verse above, it really struck me deeply.  Jesus says that anything more than yes or no is from evil, and the reading of evil from the original Greek text implies more of the evil one.  That caught me.  If I try to qualify my yes or no, whatever I add could actually be of the evil one.  If I say yes simply because I don't like conflict, and therefore don't want to offend the other person by saying no, I'm "adding" to my yes, but for sinful reasons, and that is of the evil one.  If I say no because I simply don't want to do it, or I don't want to think about what I might have to give up, again I am "adding" to my no, but for sinful reasons, and that is of the evil one.

I'll be up front in saying that it is hard to simply say yes or no to a situation set before you.  We have this need to explain ourselves within us.  I would suggest that we probably need to actually take more time to discern, to pray, to consider our schedule of activities, and then to respond with either yes or no.  Discerning is difficult, though.  It may reveal that you have said yes to way too many things, and now you need to practice your no.  Or, it may reveal that you have said no simply because you don't want to give of ourselves, and now you need to practice sacrificial giving of yourself.

Now, I don't expect that you are going to read this and all of a sudden have an epiphany and completely change how you answer people.  Perhaps the most I hope for is that you actually do make a little more effort to discern the situation next time you face a "yes" or "no". It is worth noting that we face this discernment as a redeemed child of God in Jesus, connected to His death and resurrection through our baptism.  We will mess up, and add to our no and our yes.  Yet, we also live with the perfect life of Jesus within us, with His death in us, and His resurrection in us.  That makes our no and our yes definitely worth discerning, since He has freed us from the evil one. 

A Little Catching Up

Those of you who follow me may have noticed that I have been quiet for about a week.  Last week, I was crossing the plains of Nebraska in search of future workers for God's kingdom.  While it's not as large as my home state of Texas, there are still plenty of miles to travel there, and enough things to keep working on that I just ran out of time.

So, what else has been going on?  Glad you asked.  Just yesterday, we hosted a block party for our street for the second year in a row.  The smaller city we live in provides hot dogs and drinks, and leaves barricades at the ends of the street, so that the residents of the street can get to know each other, eat together, and create a stronger neighborhood.  Last year, we were pleasantly surprised at the turnout, and this year, it was even bigger.

When God tells us to love our neighbor, we understand that there are multiple ways to understand the term "neighbor."  Yes, it means the literal person who lives next door, and we are to strive to live at peace with them, as much as it lies with us.  It also means the people of our general area (city, metro area, county, state, and nation).  On the largest of scales, we also understand it to mean every person that God has created on this earth.

For us, the block party is a great way to bring that love and care to our literal neighbors.  We met some new neighbors, reconnected with some that we hadn't seen too much over the last year, and connected even more deeply with some we see with regularity.  It's also interesting to see their reactions when they learn of my work, though for the most part, they seemed rather accommodating to serving the Lord (especially since we have two sets of nuns that live on our street).  I even had one of the nuns ask me if I knew a certain pastor in the area, who just happens to be my pastor at the church I attend!  It's amazing what you learn when you live life together.

I had to miss an on-campus event that evening in which we hosted a theologian who was speaking on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, "Life Together."  Though I missed the session, I would hope that Bonhoeffer would agree with the reason for missing it, that I was living life together with the people on my street.  My hope is that we Christians can become more known for such activities as this.

Who is your Thorn?

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:7

No one likes to have negative or sinful things about them pointed out.  Sure, we may say that we welcome correction or reproof, or that we are open to learning more of our weaknesses and shortcomings, but deep down, it really is something we resist.  We not only fail to go out of our way to find those who can point those out to us, often we actually shy away from anyone who would share those sins, weaknesses, and shortcomings with us.

Yet, there are few things more valuable to our growth as Christians than to have someone lovingly point out a sinful action or behavior, or a habit that we have that hinders others, or a weakness that we may not want to consider.  When such things are pointed out to us, we have the opportunity to address that issue and to grow from it.  I know personally that I have benefited from having this done for me any number of times, sometimes on matters of minor importance and at other times on matters that deeply affected me and others.  Each time, I have grown in my Christian faith and in the living out of that faith because of such encounters.

Truth be told, having someone do this for us is much like a thorn in the flesh.  To be honest, I made use of the verse above because it somewhat fit what I was looking for from a Bible verse for this post, rather than being the specific thing that Paul was talking about.  However, I do believe that we would tend to look at someone bringing a word of correction or reproof as a thorn.  It's something to avoid.  It keeps us from becoming conceited.  It may or may not be of Satan, but it does serve to remind us of the humility that God looks for in His people.

So the simple question tonight is, who is your thorn?  Who is that person that could address a sin issue, a weakness, or a correction, and that you would be open to their words?  Some might say it's your spouse, and there is something to that.  However, while it's good to be open and honest as a married couple, you usually want to focus on building up and strengthening each other.  Yes, at times that means addressing issues, but I would suggest that you don't necessarily want the person who is your thorn to be your spouse.

Consider, though.  Who is that person who can address that sin issue in a firm, yet caring way?  Who is there that you know who could correct something that you have done, and you won't build up a wall of pride to prove them wrong (or, at least, not too high a wall)?  Who could poke you in a way that hurts, but that serves to draw you to humility and care, and so the pain they inflict is something that you are thankful for?

If you don't have such a person in your life, perhaps it's time to look for that.  WARNING: doing this WILL be damaging to your pride and ego.  You are not perfect, and you will have some holes punctured in you.  Yet, when this is done in a caring way toward you, you can start to address these areas and grow as a Christian, which benefits you, the whole Body of Christ, and ultimately all of your neighbors as well. 

Technology, News, And Discernment

I'm in the midst of reading another book, one that touches on spiritual lives and the impact that technology has on our faith lives.  Let's just say that, a few chapters in, it already has me thinking deeply on a number of things.  (For those who may be interested, the book is called "Digitized", by Bernard Bull, Concordia Publishing House) I'll touch on a few of these here.

How do you learn about the world around you?  Most of us look to news information of some form, whether TV, newspaper, radio, or internet.  Yet, how often do we critically ask why these forums are reporting the news in the way that they are?  Why are they choosing the stories that they do?  What stories are they choosing to leave unreported?  What is the perspective that they bring to the story?  And then, especially with our day and age, are they reporting accurately, or are they trying to steer you in one direction or another? 

I would dare say that most of us would honestly have to say that we don't give it that much thought.  We listen to the ones that resonate with us, and disregard the ones that don't resonate with us.  We start to put our faith in the ones who are doing the reporting without critically asking what they may be trying to achieve with their words or stories.  And they have learned how to play on our emotions and thoughts, especially with our indwelling sinful desire to be right and to have others know that we are right.

What does this do to our faith lives?  Well, for one, I would argue that we get drawn to spending our time on the "news" rather than the "good news" (aka, the Gospel). We spend many more hours listening to perspectives, opinions, and the "stories of the day" rather than THE STORY that shows us our God and His fervent desire for us.  We pridefully proclaim that we know what is right, rather than humbly looking for the good of our neighbor, whoever they may be.  We spend our time defending our stance rather than proclaiming the good news of Jesus.

You know, that's awfully close to putting something else in God's place in our lives, a sin which God calls idolatry.  We get filled with the desire to know and to defend our position, and are willing to share that with others, even strangers, and sadly leave our Gospel proclamation and life tucked away.  We rejoice to wear a label, and even declare it on our social media sites, but fail to lovingly address our brothers and sisters with the tender care they need in Christ Jesus. We start to put people on the "right" side and the "wrong" side instead of realizing that God would have us not show partiality or favoritism.

It takes great discernment to take such a critical look at the information we take in daily. In our day and age, I would suggest that we have to do this at levels we never have had to before.  With great access comes a great need for discernment, and I pray that you will start to take a more critical look at the sources of your news information, and perhaps even ask what your time could be better spent doing.